Resolutions, Shmesolutions

You may or may not know, but I hate making New Years resolutions.  I've always had the same resolution every year...to be healthier.  Usually that involves "lose weight" or "exercise more."  Very quantifiable and achievable goals, lol.  So I just don't make them anymore.  I'm also making goals for myself all the time, almost daily.  Do I stick to them, not always, but I'd say its a fair More-often-than-not.

Although, I keep up with a few author blogs, one being Words on Words by Maggie Stiefvater who has a thing for resolutions.  Reading her blog about her resolutions made me think: "If I had to make concrete, quantifiable and achievable goals for the next year, what would they be?"

This was more difficult than it probably should be.  Most of my goals are not things that I can cross off easily, or before the end of 2010.  Regardless, here goes:

1. Blog at least once a week-seems approrpiate.  This is not something I can cross off until 12/31/10 but I still think its a good goal to keep, especially with my upcoming move across the world.
2. Buy a bike in Sydney- In my ever present desire to be more physically active, this will help. And the purchasing of a bike is something I can accomplish and cross off.
3. Don't assume people don't like you- A recent conversation with a certain Ben enlightened me that I have a tendency to assume people don't like me, thus never giving the friendship a chance.  This is neither quantifiable or concrete.  Yet, a good behavior change goal.  And if I am successful, my reward will be a more outgoing Kassi and more meaningful friendships.  So difficult to accomplish as a resolution,  but something I would like to work on and reflect on in a years time.
4. Oh yea, that little thing of getting an MPH.  This is kind of funny to me.  Because my program is only one year, by NYE 2011, I will have an MPH.  Crazy!  SO yea, thats one massive concrete goal.
5. More specifically, maintain a 3.7 GPA or higher.  I finally got the hang of it at the end of my undergrad studies, so I think this is achievable.  Though I have no idea how my undergrad studies will relate to grad school in a foreign country...
6. Have a plan for income by 2011!  I.e. Have a job!!  At the moment I don't feel that I have a lot of control over this, but as the year continues that needs to and will change.
7. Learn how to take better photographs.  Hello Donna..are you out there?  I don't need to become a photographer, but I am consistently jealous of other peoples's photos.
8. Moisturize at least once a week.  I originally had moisturize daily here.  But knowing myself, that is an automatic fail.  So lets go with more often.  Once a week would be a vast improvement to how often I do it now.  This wouldn't be a big deal if I didn't have super dry skin, and genetic material that leads to skin conditions.  TMI?  
9. Visit the Great Barrier Reef.
10. Visit New Zeland.

So there they are, my 2010 resolutions.  The first time in my life I have put resolutions in writing.  I definitely failed at coming up with quantifiable concrete resolutions, but I'm ok with that.  Resolutions are a rather personal thing after all.

What are your resolutions for 2010?

When it rains, it pours

My last Sydney update was very melodramatic and worrisome...blah. Time for a change.  Here's what happened within the span of one week:

• I was accepted for my Grad Plus loan (in addition to my Stafford loan)
• I applied for and then received my student visa
• I bought a plane ticket to Chicago for February 3rd
• I bought a plane ticket to Sydney (stopping in LA and Fiji) for February 8th
• I researched and booked a hostel for one week in Sydney
• Bought extra insurance and student ID card
• A HUGE weight was lifted off my shoulders!

So thats all the major things I needed to do to get to Sydney, and they all happened within a week, most within one day, ha!  All thats left are loose ends:

• Deciding which bank account I want to keep and closing the other
• Canceling cell phone service (a fee I don't want to pay...ugh)
• Transferring car payments to Jessica's name
• Remembering what I'm forgetting

So that's about it.  Seems almost easy now.  I may kick myself for saying that in the future, but for now I'm ridiculously calm about the whole thing.  I'm not even worried that I don't have a place to live yet, lol.  My plan is to go with the mindset of a backpacker.  I'll pack my bare essentials to take to the hostel with me.  Once I find a place, I'll have the family sip my other stuff out to me, though at this point I don't even think that will be very much stuff.  I'm looking at the things in my room, which I remember being sooo grateful to have and thinking I don't need any of it.  I need some clothes, a journal, a book to read, ipod, computer, camera and toiletries. Thats about it.  Anything else I need I can buy in Sydney.  They have Target there...I'll be fine :)

"The problem with life is there isn't any background music"

I want a soundtrack for my life.  Actually, I suppose I am slowly creating one, though it wouldn't make sense to anyone else.  And I say that's okay, cuz its my soundtrack.  I have a number of mixed cd's that are labeled simply by when they were made, Spring 07, Winter 08, etc.  I'm about to make a Fall 09 cd, and thought since I shared all my favorite books** I would also share my favorite music (not that anyone cares, lol).

**I should have noted in the previous blog post that those are my favorite Young Adult (YA) books.  I do read (occasionally) adult books, and I have a fair list of favorite adult books that I plan to share sometime.

Fall 09 Soundtrack:

Muse.

 Not gonna lie, I got into Muse because of Stephenie Meyer.  I know, I'm a junkie.  I knew a little of them before, even saw them at Lollapalooza.  But bought this album because I liked the single, and figured it had to be good.  And I was right.  It's a little crazy, there's some orchestra stuff going on, but I can excuse it.  It is on constant play on my ipod.


Spinerette

 

This is a Jake recommendation.  He recommended one song, and I prefer to have entire albums.  I listened to the previews online, and downloaded, and its awesome.  Kinda reminds me of Hole.  Anyone who loves girl rockers will love this :)  I especially love the song All Babes are Wolves.  Jake actually recommended Ghetto Love, Baptized by Fire, and Sex Bomb.  All very good.

Teddybears

 

Another Jake recommendation (the boy does a lotta driving listening to XM radio).  I only have three, my bank account limited me from purchasing all the albums I wanted at once.  Different Sound, Cobrastyle, and Punkrocker.  All three sound like different bands.  One is a uses pieces of a Kid Rock song.  Punkrocker is my favorite, "cuz Im a punkrocker, yes I am."

Metric

I only know one song on this album, "Help, I'm Alive."  If you were at my going away party or anywhere near my apartment at the end of my stay, you heard this song.  It's awesome. I've heard good things about the album, but I've been so obsessed with all my other music, I haven't gotten around to downloading it.


New Moon

Stop, before you judge, hear me out.  I saved the best for last.  Whatever you feel about the movie, the soundtrack is AMAZING.  Seriously, with all the money they had to throw at this thing it had to be epic.  All the songs on the soundtrack are originals, so you won't find it on other albums from the bands.  There are a lot of heavy hitters on the album (Thom Yorke, The Killers, Death Cab for Cutie, etc).  Before you say you don't like emo, let me tell you that its not all depressing.  I tend to find sad songs beautiful, but the soundtrack was supposed to come from different characters' points of view, therefore, not all depressing.


It was a grueling process to narrow down my favorites because, seriously, the entire album ROCKS, but my favorites include:

• Friends by Phoenix (#1 favorite, this song is great!!)  
• Possibility by Lyke Li
• Satellite Heart by Anya Marina
• I belong to You by Muse
• Done All Wrong by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
• No Sound but the Wind by Editors
• All I Believe In by The Magic Numbers.

I'm sure there are other songs that Im leaving out, but I think that basically covers it :)

My poor poor family

I've been dealing with loans and budgets and expected expenses for my year abroad, and OY VEY, do finances bring me down!  I've been in what I call 'cancerous moods' lately, where nothing positive comes from being near me or talking to me.  (I hope that isn't offensive btw).  I feel bad for Sherie and Ben who consistently ask me whats wrong, and I consistently don't want to talk about it.

I'm still on track and everything is still moving forward, thank goodness.  This is a learn-as-I-go process.  But I've applied for the Stafford loan and a Grad Plus loan.  With any luck, I won't need the Grad Plus loan because I'll get the fellowship....fingers crossed. 

Things I wish I had known:

• Pay off all credit card debt before moving to Boston.  If I had done this, I would be saving away everything I earn and not having to waste that money on credit cards!  Ugh, Im soo annoyed with myself about this!
• Sell car for serious mula!  I didn't sell my car thinking I would want it when I return.  This was dumb.  I don't know that I will return, or that I will need a car when I do.  I should have sold, made an easy $5k and been done with it.  Instead I am leasing it to Jessica, which means I'm not paying for it and get it back when I return, but I forgo the cash.  Duh!

Things I have learned:

• My undergrad loan can go into deferment while I'm a student.  Sweet!  Though this will add to the debt I am in on the other side....
• I want to live a life with as few monthly payments as possible!  Right now I'm fighting the urge to just pay off all debt I owe completely to have a clean slate.  (Car, student loans, credit cards).  This would normally be a great idea, except I need the cash for the coming year...
• Apartments in Sydney are paid on a per week basis.  Kinda strange.  Also, they are mostly dorm style (i.e. 2 bedroom apt with 4 roommates)
• I'll be spending my New Years Eve (favorite holiday) alone on the couch.  This is mostly because I don't have the cash I originally thought I would (see things I wish I had known).  But more so because, everyone was right, and it is crazy to spend the money to go to Edinburgh when I'm trying to save to Sydney.  But MAN would that have been AWESOME! (adds to the cancerous moods)

Sherie keeps telling me that my time in Boston is supposed to be a "head-down-and-hard-work"  "save as much money as possible" time.  To which I respond, "Yes, it is.  But that doesn't mean I can't mope about it."  Which is basically what Im doing by writing this entire post.

With that, I'll take my cancerous mood to bed.

My Favorite Books

I've had the idea for this blog post for a few months now, and only now getting around to it.  Its a bit overwhelming.  In the last year I became an avid reader.  To the point where my roommates thought I was depressed cause I spent all my time in bed...reading.  Most of you know this all started when I read Twilight in August of last year.  I started reading the book in order to prove to my friends that they were silly for being so obsessed with a high school book.  It took about 50 pages before I was hooked.  h-o-o-k-e-d.  I read it in 3 days, then immediately read it a second time in 3 days.  The following books in the series had me just as hooked.  It was a revolution in my life.  Since then, I have found a number of books that I not only like, but am head over heels, irrationally obsessed with.  Twilight was only the beginning.  Here are my favorite books:

Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins

Hunger Games on the surface seems to be for a younger audience.  Don't let that dissuade you.  The writing is great, the characters and amazing and complex, and the underlying messages of the book make me want to use it as a teaching tool.  It is set in a futuristic post apocalyptic America from the point of view of a 17 year old girl, Catniss, from the poorest area of the country.

Hunger Games reminded me of my favorite "make you think about the way you think about things" like The Giver, Handmaids Tale, and Oryx and Crake.
  

When I read Hunger Games, I didn't know that it was series.  I was so upset when it ended I literally threw the book across the room.  Then impatiently waited a year for the second book, Catching Fire.  Catching Fire lived up to the first, and now I impatiently wait another year for the third and final book in the series.

Shiver 
by Maggie Stiefvater

I picked this book up serendipitously.  Just browsing around Borders killing time, liked the cover, read the back, bought it.  Whoever told us not to judge a book by its cover was feeding us crap!  The cover is awesome, even cooler once you read the story and study it some more.  Once I started reading, I read it in 1 night.  ONE  night, after work, 6pm to 1am. Done. Love.

The book switches point of view between the two main characters, which I really enjoyed.  Personally, I hate reading in the third person, so this was right up my alley.  The writing is good and much attention was paid to the details.  My only complaint was that it was too short.  The last quarter of the book seemed a little rushed, but the fast pace did make it easier to whiz through it.

Even better....they just released the cover of the sequel!  I didn't even know there was a sequel when I read it. Shiver could have stood alone, but the sequel makes it even better.  The catch is...doesn't come out til next year.

Oh the waiting.....

Vampire Academy Saga

by Richelle Mead

I held off reading this for a long time even though I had read good reviews.  It was the first vampire book I read after Twilight, and I was not a vampire person, and didn't want to become a vampire person.  But I eventually read it, and it just kept getting better and better.  There are 5 Vampire Academy books out now.  And each book is better than the one before it.  The 5th book came out this fall, and I was still thinking about it for a week after I read it. 

The series starts out following two best friends.  Kinda nice for the main character to actually have a life.  Most the books I've read have been about loner girls who don't have many 'normal' relationships before something supernatural happens. 

House of Night series
by PC Cast and Kristin Cast

Warning: this series is addictive.  The books are short and breezy.  I love the story.  It gets complicated and completely evolves from innocent high school students to a group of kids trying to save the world.  The length of the books and the plot make me think it would be a good TV series, Buffy-like.  And I loved me some Buffy.  House of Night ups it a notch or two because instead of one brooding hot vamp, there's multiple brooding hot vamps (and a human) who having me changing teams a few times in each book, hah!





More to come...

Sydney update

Since I'm posting pictures of Elle Belle and Sammie (see below) I should probably also include an update on my Sydney Status. I've been hesitant to put anything up about Sydney because my confidence level on getting there changes daily, and drops significantly at least once a week.  Basically I'm afraid if I say everything's great and on track, I'll jinx it.  But if I write about all my worries anyone who reads this would A) yell at me; B) placate me; or C) think I'm insane.  Possibly all three!

Anyway, so far, things seem to be working out.  A few major hiccups include when I thought I applied to the distance learning program and wasn't actually going to Sydney.  Also when I thought I could only take out half of what I need in loans, therefore not being able to afford going to Sydney.  And most recently when I thought I missed the deadline to accept because I was so nervous to actually commit with money.  All scenarios have been taken care of, and were either misinformation on my part, or an over active imagination, also on my part.

So as of now I have accepted my offer from the University.  I have also paid the deposit (well the 5% Im required to pay as a 'loan student'), applied for financial aid, signed the MPN, and I am currently awaiting my eCoe (electronic confirmation of enrollment).  Once I am approved for financial aid and receive my eCoe I will apply for the student visa.  I might have to buy the plane ticket before then, but I'm not worrying about that right now. One thing at a time.

My former boss (you know who you are) is not going to be happy when she learns that Sydney is not offering me any type of assistantship to help pay for tuition.  I can apply for work when I get there, but there are no guarantees.   That being said, I did apply for a fellowship.  An awesome, amazing opportunity, right up my alley fellowship.  It is not through the University.  Rather it is through the American Australian Association.  Ever heard of it?  I haven't.  Until my sister, Sherie, serendipitously received an email from a list serve to all UCLA MBA alumni promoting this fellowship.  It is for American students wanting to study in Australia in certain fields and plan to bring what they learn in Australia back to the United States.  As I said, right up my alley.  So fingers crossed.  Or per a conversation with Yolanda, Nanci and others: legs, arms, and hair crossed too. 

That's all I know for now.  If I get the fellowship everyone who's ever met me will know it.  And if my life implodes, I'll probably just hide out for awhile, lol.  Until then...

Why I'm here

After being in Boston for two months, I feel its about time I can post a baby blog without feeling guilty.  Don't worry, I am only posting the best of the best random pictures from the last two months.

Up close and personal with cowpoke Samantha.

Elliot models the new outfit from Grandma (this picture was taken two months ago, but ironically enough she wore that outfit today as well)

Driving the car at the Children's Museum.  Samantha loooooves all form of transportation at the moment.  If she were a boy she would be obsessed with Thomas.  In fact I felt a little bad about the gender discrimination and went out to buy her a Thomas, until I found out that that little blue train cost a whopping $11!!!  That. Is. Insane.  Elliot is adorable in this picture and I have a hard time remembering that she's only 3.

"Lap Assie. Lap. Lap.  Peeeassss."

You're cowboy boots ain't got nothing on these.  Holy cute factor.

Pardon the blurriness...it is a camera phone.  But yea, that's right...Sammie's rockin out Da Bears!

Elliot the Blue Fairy for Halloween enjoying some ice cream at the school party.  I love her costume :)  And Samantha was one cute scary giraffe.  For more Halloween pics check out Sherie and Ben's blog. 

Last but not least:  The face Elliot makes when she's really excited is amazing cute and funny.  This face is accompanied by a scream when she hears such things as "We're having red beans and rice for dinner"  or "You're going to get to see your cousins, Alex and Zoe."

This time the face happens to be at her candy loot from Halloween :)  Also very deserving. 

I should mention that I'm incredibly bummed that I seem to have lost a few cute pictures of Elliot, which were the inspiration for this blog.  At the end of my first "Kassi Home Day" Ellie, Sam and I made a pirate ship out of my boxes that had arrived from UPS that day, all my scarves, all the blankets in the house, the broom, a few chairs, and a slew of stuffed animal friends.  Pictures included Elbow in my blue floppy hat as her Captain's Hat with Curious George as her co-pilot.  Yea. Cuteness.